


But for You I Might Change Fate

by orphan_account



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Angel & Demon Interactions, Fluffy Ending, M/M, Sougo and Mitsu are like there if you squint, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, aka Tenn is way more involved in this relationship than he should be, sort of angel and demon au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 06:16:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20271304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Yaotome Gaku may be a Master of Fate, but thats not stopping the world from raining on his parade.Written for GakuRiku Gift Exchange 2019





	1. But for You I might Change Fate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DarkRainbowTear](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=DarkRainbowTear).

Relationships were tricky things. Gaku would know. Being an “apprentice” Master of Fates more or less gave him every right to criticise. You had to consider a lot of things when twisting and tying strings of fate. The romantic in Gaku would have him recreating as many cliché love stories and happy endings as he could. The romantic in Gaku would give everyone a happy life, a happy ending, long fulfilling life. Oh, the list could go on. In fact, it could probably make a stack of paperwork taller than the one he faced now.

In reality, playing with fate wasn’t so romantic. Gaku would know. If it were easy, he wouldn’t be dealing with the fact he let his subordinates twist several strings into a huge, quite literal, knot. He had to fill in paperwork, get someone from another department specialising in _detangling _(yes that was an official job), sign some more paperwork, get yelled at by those upstart _Angels of Matchmaking_. Gaku’s headache only continued to swell after his father decided to give the go-ahead on a new streamline service in order to prevent the strings tangling more than necessary and guess who had to propose _that_ to their customers. It was no wonder they were considered the demons of the industry; the work would make anyone want a little sin to escape (Gaku pushed that thought out of his mind as he reminded himself how much he hated untangling strings which had incubus interference).

When Gaku finally did finish the extra pile of paperwork. The only one still at the office was a few of the subordinates that caused the day’s god-awful mess, and his assistant Ousaka Sougo. Sougo was a good kid who didn’t know how to take it easy. Gaku could almost feel the relief the other man exuded as Gaku dismissed him for the day (Gaku had wanted him to go home earlier but he’d refused).

After excusing himself he began the tedious journey back home. The commute wasn’t bad, sometimes taking the train gave him time to debrief himself from whatever chaos the office had handed him. Occasionally though, on days like this, Gaku wished he had that miraculous ability to teleport or fly like the Angels did. Another thing Masters of Fate didn’t get, their only special powers were being able to directly influence strings of fate. Every other creature (whether angelic or demonic) always had to submit an application of influence before being allowed to even remotely influence said strings (his incubus friend Ryuu always turned up with a full flush from the tips of his ears to his horns, something rare from a kind normally regarded as rather shameless).

Gaku almost didn’t realise he’d been on autopilot until he very nearly walked into the glass entrance of his apartment building. It was a nice building, Gaku had chosen it due to its distance from his father, easy commute, and the fact that it was close to his grandfather’s Sobaya was an added bonus. The neighbours didn’t ask too many questions and Gaku didn’t have much of a problem keeping it that way, calling the memory eaters was always a mess.

The young man’s thought path was put on hold the moment he stepped out of the elevator. Gaku didn’t have many visitors, and when he did, he was normally accompanying them up in the first place. So he was startled to find a young looking, vermillion red headed, lost looking male, pacing back and forth before his door with a piece of paper screwed up in his hands. Gaku was almost impressed, the shade of red the young man had decided on almost completely matched the strings of fate Gaku had worked so very diligently on (what compelled the young man to dye his hair that shade however was a question Gaku asked in the very back of his mind).

“What are you doing here?” He asked in a calm tone, or as calm as he could muster after his day. The young man didn’t respond however and kept pacing worriedly back and forth.

“Oi, hello? Are you listening?” Gaku called, walking slowly closer as not to startle him, walking closer when the boy continued to not responds

“Oiiiii? Are you listening? Oiiiii!” he was now standing directly in front of the boy, shaking his shoulder gently, in hopes of waking the boy up from whatever daydream was troubling him.

Startled the boy looked up, but Gaku found himself being drawn into the boy’s eyes. Red. The same colour as the boy’s hair. Gaku- who’d seen a lot of the colour in his lifetime – found himself immersed in the boy’s eyes, there was something almost comfortingly hypnotic about them. The desire for rest won him over as Gaku was brought quickly back into reality.

“Hey! You’ve been spacing out in front of my door for a while, did you need something?” He asked, trying not to startle the boy any more than he already was. He was unsuccessful.

“I’m sorry!” the boy squeaked. Shoving the paper his hands into Gaku’s chest and running off. Gaku could only stand there stunned as the boy practically threw himself into the elevator and disappeared. Some part of Gaku hoped that fate would have them meet again.

* * *

_1:30. Saturday_

_Supermarket._

_You know which one._

_9_

* * *

In all his career, Gaku had never encountered a letter as cryptic as the one he owned. Even after asking his (reluctant) Angel acquaintance, he had no luck in deciphering what on earth the letter could be about. Nor could he forget the vivid flash of red hair passing by him. So Gaku did what any good supposedly demonic being would do when handed a cryptic letter of questionable origin.

He went to his usual supermarket at the defined time (like a fool).

Who could blame him after all? One would be curious over a letter after an encounter like that right? Right? (Ryuu had made attempts to talk him out of it).

It’s not like I was inconveniencing anyone after all, the man genuinely needed to shop for the week. A man had to cook for himself, and sometimes that meant making a lot of Soba. Gaku didn’t think it was strange at all to have a preferred brand of flour. Other people had stranger hobbies surely and having a deep invested interest in how a particular food was prepared and how one liked it to be prepared wasn’t the strangest one out there. Besides there was an incredibly art behind each bowl, being able to prepare the noodles to the right consistency-

Red.

Gaku saw red. A familiar red. Red heading back towards the fresh fruits. Soba could wait.

Striding towards where the boy was headed, Gaku found himself slapping a hand on a strawberry punnet of all things. His fingers just barely brushing the mysterious red head’s.

“You!” Gaku was met with a finger pointing in his face, which he thought was fair considering he had been following the boy in a mad dash in a supermarket of all places.

“Me” he gulped, gently pushing the accusing finger down, “Uh about the other day-“

“-I’m so sorry! I should’ve tried harder to find the mail slot-!”

“I beg your pardon?” Gaku starred at him in surprise (whether it was because the boys first concern was finding a mail slot or that he was apologising, he couldn’t tell)

“Oh… You weren’t mad about having a stranger outside your door?” The boy starred at Gaku with an equal amount of surprise

“No. I-”

“Listen I’m really sorry for throwing it at you like that-”

“I read your letter!” Gaku declared, startling not just his companion, but the surrounding shoppers. It was almost cute to see the pair wear matching sets of blushes from the tips of their ears to their necks. Clearing his throat, Gaku continued, though in a much lower tone.

“Join me for coffee?”

“Thank you for your offer but I really gotta go!” the other squeaked, nabbing the punnet and making a mad dash towards the self-check-out.

“Wait!” Gaku once again exclaimed, grabbing the red head’s wrist, “I’m Gaku, what’s your name?”

He wasn’t gripping his wrist particularly hard, so the other boy easily slipped out of his grasp to dash further ahead, however he paused in his tracks and half turned to face Gaku.

“It’s Riku!” The boy yelled before dashing off and disappearing as fast as he had appeared.

Gaku remained rooted to the spot, long after fluttering red hair of the boy, now known as Riku, disappeared outside the exit. Gaku found himself in a daze until he noticed another piece of paper flutter into his shopping basket.

* * *

_12:30_ _Tuesday_

_Fonte Chocolat_

_You can do better than that_

_9_

* * *

Yaotome Gaku was many things his father was not, but their striking resemblance also seemed to strike some sort of fear in some of Gaku’s subordinates. As the son of the company head, he supposed there was good reason for their fear, after all that man had all the ability to take away the power to manipulate fate, as he did to grant it. The only one in his department who _didn’t_ seem to view Gaku with fear however was Sougo. Said man was the reason why however, he had been kicked out of the building and put on glorified snack run duty.

(_“With all due respect Yaotome-san, if you’re just going to sit there and sigh all day you might as well get the rest of us some food”_ Sougo had told him and Gaku had been unable to refuse a man holding a screw driver aimed at his chest_)_

As he examined the selection of breads and cakes available in the showcase, he began to think maybe it was for the best. Maybe he’d manage to bond a little more with his subordinates this way. Maybe it’d stop him from imagining running his hands through the soft looking red hair of the (metaphorical) angel he kept meeting-

Gaku ran a hand through his hair in frustration. The soft flush of cheeks accompanied by the bright voice yelling “_Riku!_” towards him was still fresh in his mind. Even after 4 days, 2 of which were spent being unproductive at work. He was probably romanticising the situation too much, every time he replayed the scene in his head there seemed to be a new rose-coloured filter making everything much more sparkly than he remembered it being. One could almost say he was embarrassed at how much he cherished those few seconds; his father would definitely call them unnecessary. What goes around comes around. Gaku groaned as his thoughts cycled back to work. He was here on a bread run, not to confess his deepest desires. He brought his eyes back to the showcase, studying it extensively for what he felt his subordinates would appreciate.

“Welcome to Fonte Chocolat! You’ve been there a while? Need any help?”  
  
It was as if the gods of fortune had smiled upon Yaotome Gaku as the man starred upwards in surprise. He knew that voice, and he definitely recognised that face.

“Riku?”

“Ah! Its you! Um…..”  


“Gaku, Yaotome Gaku” One could almost wince at how desperate Gaku was to provide his name.

  
“Yaotome-san!” the boy exclaimed, beaming at him, “Nice to see you again! Are you looking for anything?”

“I wasn’t aware you worked here-“  
  
“Oh no… I only help out part time!” Riku continued to smile at him as an awkward silence fell over the pair, complete with pair avoiding eye contact with each other.  
  
“I uh… Just those please” Gaku eventually said, pointing in the vague direction of the single slices of cakes

“Eh… The strawberry cakes? How many?”

“All of them… I’m on a cake run” Gaku said hastily, watching as the red haired boy mumbled in disbelief at how many cakes a man could need while packaging and ringing them up for Gaku.

“I guess I’ll see you again sometime?” Gaku laughed nervously as he took the bags from the counter

“Ah, sure I guess-”

“This one’s for you” Gaku placed one piece of Cake back on the counter and walked away.

A part of Gaku wanted to congratulate himself on how smooth he was.

The other part of Gaku wanted to kick himself in the head because _he works there you fool_.

Upon returning to work Gaku was met with another crumpled piece of paper

* * *

_For a Master of Fate _

_You really do have to be told what to do_

_5:00, _ _Fonte Chocolat_

_9_

* * *

“Yaotome-san! I’ll be out in just a minute!”

Gaku had found that if he listened to the letters, he would meet Riku. The last letter he’d received hadn’t given him a date or time, so like the fool he was, he found himself waiting at 5:00 at Fonte Chocolat the next two days until he encountered Riku again. Turns out, 5:00 was when his shift ended. And he only worked part time (Tuesdays and Fridays).

Gaku found himself _greedy_ for even the tiniest details about this boy and he couldn’t explain why. So far he knew Riku had a twin brother, he was an currently interning at the company his brother worked for, his favourite food was omurice but strawberry cake made by Izumi Mitsuki-san (the current owner of Font Chocolat) was a blessing to the world (and Gaku would agree).

Gaku wouldn’t sacrifice his work over Riku of course, but he did his damn best to finish on time so he could catch Riku on his way to the train station. In fact, it became almost a routine. He was fairly sure Sougo could sense it, but if he could, he didn’t say anything. Gaku almost found himself cursing fate itself on occasion when he couldn’t go out to meet Riku (one may not interfere with their own fate, it was the cardinal rule).

“How was work today?” it was a question he normally started off with, there was something almost healing to watching Riku bumble on about the cakes he sold or how the younger Izumi brother tried to scold him. It was cute, until Riku would return the question to him.

“My Dad keeps wanting to trust me with more difficult projects and while I’m glad, its all a bit of a mess right now” Gaku would sigh, it was a half-truth. His Dad was handing off important projects and responsibilities to him. What he didn’t tell Riku was that he was dealing with relationships much more fragile than simple business transactions.

Which brought Gaku to his only frustration. Of course, he’d considered dating a couple times. But even he had to acknowledge relationships between a human and a well, what was essentially known as a demon, was considered taboo. Gaku hated it. He found himself digger his heels into a part of his mind that every time he left to go accompany Riku to the station, he was putting Riku in more danger. The fear of his father tampering with his personal relationships existed for a reason after all.

“Yaotome-san? You went all quiet?” Gaku was brought out of his inner monolgue by Riku’s concerned voice. It really was quite something.

“You know you can call me Gaku right?”

“Oh no I couldn’t possibly do that!” Watching Riku get flustered over a such a small thing was amusing, Gaku ruffled the boys hair playfully and laughed as Riku half complained about having to fix it.

* * *

_Gods you’re so slow_

_9_

* * *

“Yaotome-san… Could I stay the night with you?”

The words took the air quite literally out of Gaku. They’d just made it to the station where they’d normally have to split up. And yet they both stood frozen to the spot. Well Gaku was, Riku was looking up at him expectantly.

“May I ask why?” Gaku replied slowly, still quite taken back but this sudden request.

“I had a fight with my brother again… I don’t really want to go back just yet” Riku said quietly, looking almost ashamed with himself.

“I... I don’t see why not, but you should call to tell them where you’ll be” Gaku replied eventually, taking a step towards his station, to which Riku followed behind.

The train ride to his place was silent. Maybe it was for the best, Riku didn’t seem to be particularly in the mood to discuss details, thought maybe he just didn’t want to blurt his life problems out where strangers could hear.

The quiet comfort they provided each other was more than enough for now.

* * *

_If you aren’t going to do anything, _

_Then give him back_.

* * *

Gaku doesn’t quite know when things started to… Just stop. The letter was a catalyst for sure. He’d since confronted Riku about it who claimed not to have any knowledge about the contents. Odd, considering Riku had been the one to deliver the first letter. He also began to notice just how entwined, Riku’s string of Fate was. He knew it couldn’t have been his own, as no Master of Fate was able to see their own string but watching Riku’s slowly knot into a ball with this other string didn’t help his suspicions.

Riku had always been the more touchy-feely of the two. He was slightly more outgoing with physical contact. Gaku didn’t quite know how to describe the point they were at, they’d had some… Intimate moments, but neither had said anything about them nor done anything romantically defining.

Maybe the problem was that they’d reached a stalemate? Gaku couldn’t figure it out. He’d sent his subordinates into a frenzy after he tiredly muttered “Relationships are hard” earlier that day. Sougo must have thought he’d lost his mind and heavily chided him for lowering the moral. He’d subsequently been sent out of the building for some fresh air (read: threatened by screwdriver). He was frustrated.

“-And I bet you’re hurt and angry too”

Gaku stood to attention as a chilling tone came over his body. Before him stood a whole 5’8”’s worth of Nanase Riku evil _clone_.

“Well? Yaotome Gaku? Do you know who I am?” The boy continued, in his chilling tone

“Not… Nanase Riku?” He said weakly, it seemed to satisfy the other boy for now.

“Well you aren’t wrong. Nanase Tenn, pleasure I’m sure.” The boy known as Tenn, said in a tone that suggested anything but meeting him was a pleasure.

“What do you want?”  
  
“What I want to know is how a miserable Master of Fate, doesn’t even know how to manage his personal relations without help” Tenn said smugly, watching wave upon wave of chills run through Gaku’s spine. How had he known that? Surely Riku can’t have told him. Gods Riku didn’t even _know_. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Gaku said stiffly, clearly not believing a word he said.

“Let me introduce myself again then” Tenn cleared his throat before adding, “Nanase Tenn, also known as Kujou. Angel of Matchmaking”

Gaku didn’t quite remember what happened after that.

* * *

_Sent from: Gaku-san_

_Your brother is an Angel_

_Sent from: Gaku-san_

_Riku, why didn’t you tell me your brother was an Angel_

_Sent from: Gaku-san_

_Riku we need to talk._

_Read at 5:03 PM_

* * *

Gaku was fairly sure he was being avoided. He’d been left on read since last Friday and he hadn’t received help from Tenn who’d texted him the day after saying he was “no longer at liberty to provide romantic assistance” (Gaku didn’t know what kind of romantic assistance his letters had provided but he wouldn’t argue that). The possibility of Riku being non-human, and therefore very available for him to freely pursue had made Gaku excited, ecstatic even. But the lonely emptiness of life without Riku was exhausting. It almost amazed him how he’d gotten by previously.

As life does however, it continues on. And on. Gaku found himself on the train. Off the train. Signing paperwork left right and centre, snow had begun to fall and before he knew it he’d had a month without seeing Riku (his twin on the other hand, had been very smugly waltzing in to see him directly about receiving permissions to interact with people’s fates). He’d attempted burying himself in work, much like Sougo tended to do, which only ended up worrying everyone (just what impression these people in his department had of him was a jumbled mess to Gaku at this point). He’d even tried to talk to Ryuu, which was difficult since the other demon was enjoying well deserved family time and was unavailable to play a listening ear at Gaku’s whim.

_Sent from Tenn_

_You should do something other than bitch and moan_

_6:30 PM_

_Like what?_

_Your brother refuses to talk to me, and you refuse _

_to talk to him for me_

_Sent from Tenn_

_Gods you’re so stupid, it’s a wonder what Riku see’s in you._

_6:32 PM_

Gaku began furiously typing out a reply before he watched a letter quite literally poof into existence. Before his eyes. In a pink puff of smoke. Gaku opened and read the letter none the less.

In less than a minute he was out the door

* * *

_This is your last hint_

_6:50 PM, train station_

* * *

Gaku had an image to maintain. Or at least, he felt he did. It was his only excuse currently keeping him from screaming his lungs out in his search for Riku. Even inside the train station it was cold, as he sped towards where Riku’s platform was. He couldn’t miss this chance.

A blur.

A red-ish blur.

“Riku!” Gaku lunged his arm out and grabbed a wrist.

Only for an irate train passenger to give him a very strange look before yanking their arm back. Out of the corner of his eye he watched the time tick over to 6:52. He found himself slumping on a bench, as commuters hurried along. He had been too late. Riku was probably long gone. He wondered if he’d confessed earlier then he would’ve been able to tie their strings before they were forced to unravel. Or maybe had confronted Riku about the letters earlier. He wondered if this was how all Masters of Fate felt, when they were useless to change their own fates. Standing up, Gaku began to make the walk back to his own platform. It wasn’t his first relationship rodeo. But the sting would still remain.

“Yaotome-san!” A bundle of coats topped with a bur of red tackled into Gaku’s side causing the man to wheeze, barely able to stay standing.

“Riku?!” Gaku coughed, choking on a sharp intake of cold air.

“You’re a Master of Fate!” he exclaimed causing Gaku to shove a hand over his mouth.

“Ssssh! You can’t just blurt it out loud!” Gaku hissed as Riku pulled the taller man’s hands off his mouth

“I’m so sorry, I thought you were human, and then Tenn-nii said something about dating humans being Taboo, especially for angels and that I broke more rules by getting involved with you and-“ Riku cut himself off and began coughing, causing Gaku some alarm.

“Riku lets move somewhere warmer-“Gaku tried to put him back properly upright but Riku clamped his mitten covered hands firmly on his face.  
  
“Yaotome-san you’re so stupid”

It was sloppy. It was cold. It was more like their faces being slammed together. It wasn’t how Gaku would imagine sharing a first kiss, but there was an odd comfort in how nicely Riku felt against him. When they separated all Gaku could do was stare starry eyed at Riku’s flushed face (whether from the cold or from the kiss he didn’t care).

“I’m an Angel Yaotome-san” Riku breathed, matching Gaku’s stare.

“I guess I could call you my Snow Angel” Gaku quipped, he went in for another kiss. It was softer, warmer, and a lot gentler- and now freezing cold?!

“Get a room both of you!” Complained Tenn, as he dusted his hands from the snow he’d just launched at Gaku’s face.


	2. Prototype

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was the prototype chapter I worked with before deciding to write it from gaku's perspective.

In a strange twist of fate, modern angel hierarchy had deemed Angels of Matchmaking amongst those who’ve been recognised as the pinnacle of angelhood; prime examples of _what_ an angel _should_ be. Riku couldn’t agree more, after all his twin brother was amongst those highly regarded ranks as the 9th most successful matchmaker; Despite only being in the job for 2 years. That being said, it was the prime fact Tenn was his twin brother that caused Riku to often spiral down into self-loathing tendencies. After all, in comparison, Riku had still yet to graduate from being an angel in training, running small part time jobs for other angels to get a feel for what field he’d go into.

_[Oi, hello? Are you listening?]_

His co-workers had called him out on his tendency to go into a self-loathing monologue and reassure that he’d find his way soon (Tenn did too if he was home), but to Riku it felt more like lip service. To Riku, Angels were supposed to be capable individuals who knew what they wanted, and how to get it. And here he was, still unable to decide on what type of angel he’d specialise as. Riku’s briefly overwhelming sense of inferiority to Tenn had caused the twins to have one of their very rare fights, nothing was harmed, except for maybe their dignity. The result of which brought them slightly closer together he supposed but had also brought Riku to his current predicament.

_[Oiiiii? Are you listening? Oiiiii!]_

Deliver this, Tenn said. It’ll be easy, Tenn said. His twin had proposed Riku try out being a matchmaker’s assistant, specifically, his assistant. It was a simple job really, especially with Tenn handling the “more complicated parts” (“Relationships and matchmaking are tricky, just deliver this letter to the _exact_ location here, beam yourself back here and it’s a job well done. Just don’t get caught”). Tenn had said to deliver the letter to the _exact_ location, which was easy enough. The location wasn’t far from where the angel headquarters were located (in a human city, conveniently near a train station), so Riku walked there, taking care to make himself inconspicuous as possible (“if the humans find out we’ve been dabbling in their affairs the whole time who knows what will happen” Tenn had thoroughly drilled into him as he was about to walk out the door). However, Tenn’s exact location was very much _not_ in front of any mailbox or slot. It was simply in front of a door. A very expensive looking apartment door. Was Tenn wrong? Was Tenn’s location maybe slightly off the mark? Riku had tried poking the letter under the door, only to not have much luck getting it underneath at all. Riku’s breath started to quicken as he began to panic, even the hand gently shaking his shoulder-

Ah. Wait.

Hand on his shoulder?

Bringing himself out of his self-imposed downward spiral Riku blinked owlishly at a young man who was staring at him in a rather concerned manner. Grey hair framed a very handsome face, which was staring at him with an expression that probably mirrored his own. The taller individual’s hair had several tuffs which stuck out, somehow softening the harshness of the man’s eyes. Now Riku has had few if any romantic experiences, but some part of him considered that under any other circumstances, the man before him probably fit his type-

“Hey! You’ve been spacing out in front of my door for a while, did you need something?” The man asked in a neutral tone, not accusingly, slightly concerned if anything. Riku found himself snapping out of his daze upon the words “my door”. This man was the recipient. This man was the recipient and had caught him before he could beam away. Riku could swear he could hear his heart beat faster.

“I’m sorry!” he cried, shoving the (now crumpled) letter into the other man’s chest before tearing away from the man’s grasp on his shoulder and hightailing as fast as his legs could take him. Riku didn’t end up stopping until he’d made it to some street corner, a bit away from the apartment complex. Despite the circumstances, Riku beamed himself back to headquarters however in his rush to do so, he’d beaming himself back above his Twin brother, whom he proceeded to crush as he fell.

“Welcome back. Hgnh. Riku” Tenn grunted, stunned by his brother’s sudden appearance and struggling under the new additional weight of the other person.

“Tenn-nii! I’m… hah… Sorry!” Riku apologised, attempting to catch his breath before Tenn noticed anything out of the ordinary, that being said it was Tenn, so immediately after the pair had untangled themselves from each other, Riku was met with Tenn’s piercing stare.

“I’m assuming you got what I asked you done, but why are you panting?” Tenn asked, raising a brow at Riku who still remained hunched over with his hands on his knees, catching his breath.

“I…” Riku wheezed “I encountered a wolf”

**Author's Note:**

> For DarkRainbowTear


End file.
